Day: June 19, 2017

As a successful construction project manager, Regard Yakou has had to learn how to resolve both internal and external conflicts. While the conflict in the workplace is inevitable, learning how to efficiently handle the conflict is key to preventing it from deterring your growth as a professional.

Here are some tips to help you resolve disputes in the workplace.

Take the time to listen to each of the complaints and resist the urge to jump in and solve the problem.

Encourage those with a conflict to speak openly and honestly with one another, face to face. This allows them to listen for changing voice tones and notice shifts in body language, something you don’t get through email, social media or texting.

You have to realize that regardless of the issue, most people are coming from a position of true belief and sincerity. They aren’t usually trying to cause trouble, but they truly believe in their position.

You may have to take sides. If the individuals that are in the conflict have taken the time to talk about the issues and still don’t have a resolution to the issue, then you will have to take a side. Make sure that you have given both parties a chance to be heard before making a decision.

Whether you work for a small company or a large, multi-million-dollar corporation, conflict is a natural part of the business. When conflict does arise, you want to deal with it quickly and fairly. Regard Yakou, the Director of Operations at CON-TRACO, is experienced at resolving conflict in the workplace.